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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The snow is completely gone – not a trace of it left anywhere in the yard – not even the cold, dark places on the north side of the house. I wish that it hadn’t snowed, that school hadn’t been closed. There is now one day less to complete everything that needs to be done before I walk out the door on Friday and start our Spring Break.

Took some photos from the window yesterday and generally didn’t do much of anything. I knew I’d be running around all week, making up for it.

She is pretty.

And so are her wings.

I opened the back door yesterday because I heard something out there. Thousands and thousands of birds were chirping as the snow came down. They were all in the top branches of the trees.

The snow continued to fall until 5 pm, and the more it fell, the less it stuck to the ground. It snowed all day long, but we had more snow on the ground when I woke up than we did at 5 pm.

I found these images on Pinterest. You can’t rush the seasons, though. And so, I am resigned to wait.

Meanwhile, heard this tune on a television commercial for (I believe) Sprint. I looked it up and it sounds very much like Nick Drake. I like it a lot.

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Hope your week is a good one. I adjusted the comments so that self-hosted bloggers can use the comment form. This whole spam thing is driving me nuts. Apologies if you’ve been trying to leave a comment and have gotten nowhere.

Monday, March 25, 2013

With each and every predicted snowfall this winter, we had nothing. Not one single significant taste of snow this season. Oh, we had wind, we had rain, and we may have had a little ice one day but the only snow we had quickly disappeared.

This morning, I awoke to this.

It’s the first week of spring, and we have a winter wonderland.

I took most of these photos from the windows of the house. I am not going to take the camera out in this because it’s coming down pretty good out there.

I think I’ll just pretend it’s January.

It sure is photogenic though, isn’t it?

My husband had been up for hours and I came downstairs to the wonderful scent of coffee and to a pup that was wet and happy.

George loves snow.

I love snow, as well. But this one isn’t making my heart go pitter pat.

I took this one from the front porch. I love that big ‘ole holly tree there.

Taken with my phone from the bedroom window when I woke up.

And all that snow play made someone very tired.

It’s still coming down out there and the wind has picked up some, knocking a lot of it off the trees. And I can hear the birds singing out there. They sound confused.

Hope your week is a good one. Our school will be on spring break beginning Friday afternoon ~

Saturday, March 23, 2013

I heard a noise at my window the other day. It was a cardinal who was attacking the glass. Behind our flat screen tv, which is set at an angle in front of the window, we have poinsettias that are still in bloom. Outside the window is a huge bush and in that bush lives a cardinal and his wife and, I’m sure, a nest with eggs. When I realized what was going on, I went for the camera and recorded the following sequence of events which only took a few seconds.

I’m not sure whether this was related to rivalry on the cardinal’s part or if he was just feeling good on a lovely sunny afternoon in very early Spring.

I felt like a voyeur, but was glad I had the camera. I want to print the 7th one down and put it in a frame because I like it so much.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

It’s not easy capturing birds in flight. That’s a big understatement, but sometimes I get lucky. I sat by the kitchen window late yesterday afternoon in the pretty light, turning up the shutter speed considerably and shot the picture below on the first try.

I thought to myself, “close – but no cigar.” And so I continued to try my luck in order to catch an awesome wing spread. But it was to no avail. Below, I give you all my fails.

I know. You’re thrilled, aren’t you?

Now this is just weirdness.

Not quite.

Just missed this one. I was focusing manually too, because when I shoot in Shutter mode, the autofocus gets confused. Does it do that to you, owners of Nikon D7000’s? It’s easier to just shoot on manual focus when in that mode.

And another wonky one.

This one’s ok in a dreamy sort of way.

But only barely.

But this one of a male cardinal caught preening is my favorite.

Oh, there’s an entire series of this guy which I’ll have to share with you soon.

This is my favorite of the lot and was taken from the living room window.

And speaking of windows, our view through the woods of the the sun setting.

Taken with the long lens, Nikon 70-300mm, through the kitchen window.

Thanks for stopping by today.

ps – due to massive amounts of spam since the first of the year, I have recently had to limit comments to registered users only (which includes Open ID). A friend informed me that most of the people who do it (spam) are out of work and live in 3rd-world countries. They get paid a small amount to pepper spam comments all over the world. I took it off and put it back to anonymous last night and within several hours, I got hit again. And I refuse – absolutely refuse to go word verification. You are welcome to write me at katydid56@gmail.com if you have a problem commenting here.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

I know that at least one reader was vehement against me posting what I find interesting on Pinterest. She said that she comes here to see MY photography. To that end, whenever I choose to share images I find on Pinterest, I'll always post one of my own.

I enjoy perusing Pinterest from time to time. It's like looking through a magazine. When I see something I enjoy, I post it to one of my boards, of which I have several. And my Pinterest account is in George's name in case you were wondering.

If I made every recipe I found on Pinterest, I would be huge. This one looks healthy and delicious, though. I love this site for the recipes, and it's really nice being able to store them on my boards.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

On the whole, my weekend was quiet (and damp). I made panko breaded chicken tenders and twice-baked potatoes on Saturday night with chocolate chip oatmeal crisps for dessert. Tonight, I served a small fryer chicken stuffed with lemon and rosemary, accompanied by root vegetables, and cornbread muffins. I would hesitate to agree with anyone who said I was a good cook; I am serviceable at best. But my son seems to think I am. I will say that it’s nice to be appreciated when you make something good.

It’s also nice when you don’t have to do the dishes. {Thank you, son}.

Otherwise, all was quiet. I appreciate the silence all the more these days.

All was silent as before -All silent save the dripping rain.~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We found out the new squirrel-proof feeder wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.

It's not that I'm so smart,

it's just that I stay with problems longer.

~Albert Einstein

I enjoyed several cups of tea.

May you always have walls for the winds,a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,and all your heart might desire.~Irish Blessing

And there was another lucky wing shot.

We do not remember days; we remember moments.

~Cesare Pavese

Hoping the week to come is good to you. I’m hoping it’s good for me, too.

My name is Kate. I live in Maryland with a border collie named George in an old manor house that predates the Revolutionary War. I began this blog in 2007 to share my photography with my family and friends. Welcome.

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